1973 Honda CL350

[Dave Swanson]

I just finished the long term restoration of my 73 CL350, and thought you all would enjoy taking a look.

[Tkelly]

Congratulations on a beautiful job.I had 2 of those stolen when I lived in Chicago back in the 70s,red ones that were just the thing for city  and country day rides,park anywhere and space for a girl on the back.

[Huzo]

You guys amaze me..
That level of workmanship is beyond my reach.

[guzziart]

Dave,

Very nice resto!  Here's my non-resto '72.

[Matteo]

Very nice Dave!

[radguzzi]

Such a beauty, Dave. Wow..!

Man, that bring back some memories...!

Rob

[pressureangle]

Ready for the BDR!

[tommy2cyl]

Beautiful resoration Dave.  Looks like the future drag race is on when my Triumph 400 X arrives.  Getting that final weight of your machine
should be possible now.   Wouldn't mind a HP rating as well so I can do the power to weight math for comparison.   

[Stretch]

WOW!

No CL350 ever left the Honda production line lookin' that good.

Nice job!   

                                      -Stretch

[rschrum]

Mine was a 69 CB. 36hp I believe.

[DouglasDriver]

Absolutely stunning

[normzone]

Oh dear ... My first bike was a CL 350, I believe a '72, but I could be off by a year.

I put up the pink slip for my '39 Buick for it with a promise to pay off the $400 in a short period of time.

The fellow who put me on to it told the owner "Oh, you'll get your money - his mother would kill him if he let that car go".

[s1120]

Shes pretty sweet!!

I tell you the CB, CL, SL 350's are really a benchmark bike. They just do it all, and while slow by todays standards, they are still a bike you can jump on at anytime, and ride anywhere.

[guzziart]

Mine was a 69 CB. 36hp I believe.

Hey Rshrum,
I had one of those'69's in high school in '69.  Mine was blue & white, I think it was the only year that had knee pads on the tank.  I beat many 650 triumphs off the line with it and pulled away from Yammie 350  R5's. 
Art

[sdcr]

Great job. This was my first “new” bike in 1973. IIRC, out the door for $995. + tax. Easy wheelie machine.

[kballowe]

DANG !  That looks soooo nice !!!

Can we get more pictures ???

 

[Cam3512]

Truly spectacular, as usual!

Cam

[larrys]

That's a beauty! It is good that some of these old Jap bikes are being saved. Most were just thrashed and trashed.
Larry

[Moparnut72]

I worked in a motorcycle rental shop part-time when I was in the Army in Denver. We had a fleet of CL350s and CB160s. They were all great bikes, I knew them well due to the destruction they experienced. They were like a Timex, they took a lickin' and kept on tickin'. Beautiful bike, nicer than new.
kk

[Guzzistajohn]

That should rub right out!     Hey, somebody had to say it! NICE WORK!

[Dave Swanson]

DANG !  That looks soooo nice !!!

Can we get more pictures ???

 

I bought this bike at a garage sale down the street about 15 years ago.  I had to push it home.  It was only $250 and didn't have a title.  The overall condition was rough but not horrible.  What stood out was the very pristine exhaust system which was worth more than the sell price.  I stored it for quite a few years in a protected environment so it wouldn't deteriorate further.  I went through the process of getting a title before I spent money on it.  After evaluation of the bike I have surmised that most of the exhaust system was replaced with NOS before it was put away. 

The CL350 has a sentimental value because my best bud back in the day taught me to ride a motorcycle on his CL350 and I got my endorsement using his bike.  He was murdered in a robbery about 5 years later and is the namesake for my son. 

[guzziart]

Well, it came out beautiful! 

Mine was free, the guy wanted it out of his garage back in Y2K, it hadn't run in 2 decades according to the owner.  I did a bunch of routine maintenance (fork seals, carb clean, tires, batt, etc.) to get it running but the cam chain tensioner came apart in '07, I finally got around to replacing it in '12.  Then one of the mufflers developed a hole in it so I got it welded up but I'm always on the look out for another one.  I've got a real nice CL450 exhaust system that I bought by accident...the seller said it was for a 350.  So, I'm also on the look out for a CL450

Anyway, nice bike Dave, I admire your enthusiasm and preseverance in perfection.

Art

[MMRanch]

Wow Dave ! 

That looks better than the new ones did . 

There's some nice lines on that bike that makes me wonder ... Why don't we get new bikes like that ?  Me for one ... would buy the looks of that SL350 before the looks of the 300 Rebel . 

The Honda 350's were the first "Real" "Go anywhere" bike for a lot of folks .    Mine was the CB in Gold like this one , my brothers was like yours

  https://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/Honda/honda_cb350K%2072.htm

[Moparnut72]

The ones I tried to maintain were just like this one. I thought the exhaust was pretty cool. We rented mainly to Airmen from Lowry Field across the street. Saturday morning they would come piling out the gate when released on weekend passes trying to get a bike before they were all taken. They could sure tear them up though. The Honda Dealer right down the street kept a lot of parts for these models in stock for us, clutch and brake levers, handlebars, foot pegs etc. I straightened and welded what I could and replaced everything else. Between working there and my Army job I was able to save enough to buy a new R75/5 cash, the first one in Denver. The only time I had took off was Sunday evening when all the chaos for the weekend was over. Then I had the rest of the week to get ready for the next weekend. Those were the days.
kk

[Dave Swanson]

Off the lift and ready for first fire.

[Dave Swanson]

And the 74 Eldo Police bike shoves its way to the front.

[Hit Man]

I just finished the long term restoration of my 73 CL350, and thought you all would enjoy taking a look.

Well done Dave:  We're 'Twin twins', and from Illinois, too.  I took the lazy route and have one from the original owner - all original, including the tires, and the Japanese air in those tires!      Thanks for saving this one and sharing (been waiting a long time for this one).

[Dave Swanson]

Well done Dave:  We're 'Twin twins', and from Illinois, too.  I took the lazy route and have one from the original owner - all original, including the tires, and the Japanese air in those tires!      Thanks for saving this one and sharing (been waiting a long time for this one).

Wow! What an amazing bike!  I would love to see more pictures.  Feel free to email a few to w9eu@hotmail.com 

[brider]

Now I want one. Awesome job! That's an example of a REAL "motor-cycle", and the original luster reveals the quality of the original design & build. The engine alone looks years ahead of it's time just sitting on the bench. It would look great just sitting on a lighted pedestal.

[Hit Man]

Wow! What an amazing bike!  I would love to see more pictures.  Feel free to email a few to w9eu@hotmail.com

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